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Hollinger Corp. 
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SOME INTERESTING SOIL PROBLEMS. 



MILTON WHITNEY, 

Chief Division of Soils. 



Reprint from Yearbook of Department of Agriculture for 1897. 



CONTENTS. 



^P 



Page. 

Introduction., ... ... 429 

Irrigated lands of the San Joaquin Val'ey. California. 431 

Soils requiring no irrigation nor rainfall during the growing season 432 

Wheatlands . 432 

Deserts - 433 

The low relative humidity 435 

Lines of investigation 436 

The texture of the soils '. .1 439 

ii 



[Reprint from Yearbook of Department of Agriculture for 1897.] 



SOME INTERESTING SOIL PROBLEMS. 

By Milton Whitney, 
Chief of the Division of Soils. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The vast scope and importance of agriculture in the United States 
at once lends interest to any investigation which promises to aid in 
increasing the productiveness of our soils. Owing t o the .ureal va iioi y 
of conditions, however, which may be presented, the solution of any 
particular problem is usually of somewhat local application; but to 
the vast number of Eastern agriculturists, dependent on the vaga- 
ries of summer rains, there is no problem so important as the main- 
tenance of a proper supply of water in the soil. Unfortunately, the 
extreme complexity and lack of homogeneity of Eastern soils, together 
with our peculiar climatic conditions, surround the solution of this 
problem with great difficulties. 

As a rule, soil problems in the extreme West are simpler and easier 
to study than anywhere else in the country. In the first place, the 
soils themselves are more uniform in their texture, and the climatic 
conditions are more stable. Hilgard has called attention to the fact 
that, under the conditions prevailing where the rainfall is scanty, 
rocks have disintegrated with comparatively little decomposition, so 
that the soil grains are still composed of the several minerals of which 
the original rock was made up. This disintegration in most cases has 
reached to a considerable depth and results in soils having similar 
physical properties to great depths. There is seldom a diiference 
between the soil and subsoil, as there is under the more humid climate 
of the East. The soils generally are silty in character and contain 
relatively little very fine material having the properties of clay. 

The relation of some of these soils to water and to crops is very 
remarkable. They absorb moisture so readily, lose it through evap- 
oration so slowly, and yet supply the needs of plants so regularly and 
abundantly, that they can stand long periods of drought, during 
which the crops continue to grow without any signs of suffering for 
lack of water. These properties are so marked, that if properly under- 
stood they will undoubtedly throw an important light upon the gen- 
eral principles of the relation of soils to moisture. For this reason 
they are of unusual interest to students of agriculture, and it is 
hoped that a simple presentation of the subject will arouse an interest 
in those who have ready access to the soils in question, and encourage 
a thorough and detailed study of the reasons for the extraordinary 
properties the soils possess. 

429 



430 YEAEBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

The facts are not new. The farmer in these favored sections is 
as familiar with the fact that certain soils will withstand droughts of 
six months' duration as our Eastern farmer is that his crops require 
rain at intervals of a week or ten days. Hilgard has in numerous 
publications called the attention of the scientific world to the facts. 
They are so unusual, however, and so unlike the conditions in the 
Eastern portion of our own country or of Europe, that too much 
attention can not be drawn to them nor too much thought and study 
be given to the explanation of the conditions. 

The accompanying tables give a summary of the rainfall and rela- 
tive humidity at a number of places in the West toward which 
attention should be directed. The records were furnished by the 
Chief of the Weather Bureau, who states that the summary is made 
up from data which is very incomplete and in many ways unsatisfac- 
tory, so that too much reliance can not be placed upon the records, 
nor can the conditions at different places be compared with any 
degree of exactness. They are sufficiently exact, however, to serve 
the present purpose. 

Mean annual and seasonal rainfall. 



Locality 



Tulare, Cal . 
Fresno, Cal . 



Mohave, Cal . 



Chino,Cal 

San Bernardino, Cal 

Claremont, Cal 

Pomona, Cal 

Merced, Cal 

Stockton, Cal _ 

Wallawalla, Wash 
Bozeman, Mont... 
Pullman, Wash . . . 
Miles City, Mont 

Bismarck, N. Dak 

Fargo, 1ST. Dak 

Jamestown, N. Dak 

Wadsworth, Nev 

Tecoma, Nev 

Reno, Nev 

Humboldt House, Nev 

Golconda, Nev 

Elko,Nev 




Remarks. 



Conditions in the San Joaquin Valley, Cal., 
■where crops are only grown under irriga- 
tion. 

Conditions on the desert in southern Califor- 
nia, where crops are not grown at present. 

Conditions in southern California, where 
crops are grown on certain soils without 
irrigation. 

Conditions in California, Washington, and 
Montana, where wheat is grown on certain 
soils withoiit irrigation. 

Conditions in Yellowstone Valley, Montana, 
where crops are grown under irrigation. 

Conditions in North Dakota, where wheat is 
grown without. irrigation. 



Conditions in Nevada, where crops are only 
grown under irrigation. 



SOME INTERESTING SOIL PROBLEMS. 431 

• IRRIGATED LANDS OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA. 

The conditions at Tulare and Fresno, CaL, arc typical <>!' a large 
area under irrigation in the San Joaquin Valley. Around Fresno 
some of the soils possess in a remarkable degree the property of i ia im- 
porting water for the use of crops. The soil of the locality lias I >ecome 
so filled with water through overirrigation that the older and well- 
established vineyards no longer need irrigation. Vineyards and fruit 
trees grow most luxuriantly without irrigation and with no rain what- 
ever during the growing season. As a matter of fact, however, while 
water is not applied directly to the surface of the ground, the canals 
are allowed to run, in order to supply the new vineyards which are 
being set out. These canals, as a rule, are somewhat higher than the 
surrounding fields on account of the sediment which they have brought 
down, and which has been partially thrown out on the banks. It is 
generally believed that the maintenance of the water supply in the 
soil is dependent realty on the water running through these canals. 
The seepage from the canals is undoubtedly very great. It is stated 
that if the flow should at any time be obstructed in a caual and the 
water held there, that it would be absorbed by the soil and completely 
disappear in the course of two or three days, provided the supply also 
was cut off. It is the impression there that if canals are running on 
two sides of a section, that is, a mile apart, the soil between them 
will be sufficiently watered. This has not been exactly determined, 
but is stated in order to give a general idea of the magnitude of this 
subject of subirrigation, as it is called. It seems perfectly incredible 
that the lateral movement of water could be so great in these soils as 
to supply the need of plants for half a mile on either side of an irri- 
gation ditch. If these soils were packed into cylinders and water 
applied in the Ordinary manner of a drainage experiment, it is certain 
that the movement would not be so extremely rapid as this would 
indicate. There is nothing special in the texture of the soil to indi- 
cate such an unusual property as it would have to possess in order to 
secure the magnitude of the lateral movement which the facts indi- 
cate. The standing water is not so very near the surface of these 
lands. One would have to go probably from 12 to 25 feet in digging 
a well to get a sufficient supply of water. It may be that the seepage 
from the canals merely maintains this underground supply, and that 
the soil has the power of drawing water wp from that distance to sup- 
ply the needs of crops. However improbable the facts may appear, 
nevertheless they exist, and a careful study of the conditions can not 
fail to throw light upon important properties of soils, of which, at any 
rate, we do not appreciate the full value. 



432 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

SOILS REQUIRING NO IRRIGATION NOR RAINFALL DURING THE GROW- 
ING SEASON. 

At the four stations selected from southern California, namely, 
Chino, San Bernardino, Claremont, and Pomona, there are certain 
soils upon which crops are grown without irrigation. There are on 
an average between 17 and 18 inches annual rainfall at these places, 
the most of which falls during the winter months. Less than an inch 
of rain falls on the average during the five months of the growing 
season, from May to September, inclusive. The Weather Bureau 
records for the present season show that there has been no rain in 
Pomona since April. Tobacco set out since the rains stopped and 
with no irrigation matured a crop aggregating a considerable yield 
per acre, and then matured a sucker crop, which was cut toward the 
last of September. These two crops of tobacco were grown with no 
rainfall during their period of growth, with but little attention to 
cultivation, and yet were luxuriant and healthy. The soil was still 
moist just below the surface. No apparent reason for this is revealed 
by examination of the soil itself, which consists of a light loam inclin- 
ing to rather a coarse, sandy structure. It is in an artesian district, 
but the surface wells are 30 or 40 feet deep, showing that there is no 
standing water near the surface of the ground. At Chino sugar 
beets are grown without irrigation under the average conditions here 
reported. At Pomona orchards and vineyards flourish for months 
without any rainfall whatever, and with no standing water within 20 
or 30 feet of the surface of the ground. 

WHEAT LANDS. 

In the great wheat areas in the northern part of the San Joacpun 
Valley of California, in the Palouse district around Pullman, Wash., 
and on the foothills at Wallawalla, Wash., and at Bozeman, Mont., 
the soils produce fine crops of wheat without irrigation. In Montana 
and Washington the crop is harvested during September or the very 
last of August. It is therefore strictly a summer crop, and is pro- 
duced during the months for which the records are here given. The 
soils all have, undoubtedly, the power of retaining the winter rains 
and of giving the moisture up to the crops as it is needed. The rain- 
fall amounts to from 13 to 18 inches, and most of it falls during the 
winter months. With so little rainfall it is doubtful, and by many it 
is thought to be wholly improbable, that any of the water leaches 
downward through the soil and runs off in the country drainage. By 
far the largest portion at any rate, and probably in most cases all, of 
the rainfall evaporates from the surface of the ground or is transpired 
by the growing crop. 

In the humid regions of the Eastern States, with 40 inches of annual 
rainfall, half of this leaches down and runs off in the drainage. This 
leaves but 18 or 20 inches of rainfall there for the use of crops. This 



SOME INTERESTING SOIL PROBLEMS. 133 

is a familiar fact, and under the conditions it is perfectly possible to 
make a crop if the rainfall is well distributed. The soils have 1 1 < > such 
power, however, as they have in the extreme West of retaining mois- 
ture, a drought of a few weeks' duration in the East doing more harm 
to the crop than a drought of the same number of months would do in 
these Western soils. The soils at Pullman are typical of these fine 
wheat lands, in that they are very deep and there is no difference 
between the soil and the subsoil, to a great depth at least. The soil 
is a fine loam, derived from the disintegration of basaltic rocks. The 
wells are from. 30 to 40 feet deep, occasionally 200 feet. The surface 
soil dries out during the summer to a considerable depth ami dry dust 
is left on the surface. This-, dry surface, however, seems to protecl 
the soil from excessive loss of moisture through evaporation and to 
conserve the moisture for the use of the crop. 

The foothills soil of Bozeman, Mont., produces without irrigation a 
very sure crop of hard wheat. In the valley between the mountains, 
with but little difference in the elevation and within 1 or 2 miles, 
the valley soil has to be irrigated several times during the season, and 
the wheat produced is a soft wheat. Surely there are no more inter- 
esting conditions affecting the relation of soils to water and to crops 
than those present in these two soils at Bozeman, and their investiga- 
tion should throw much light on this interesting subject. 

It is interesting to compare the conditions prevailing over the noted 
wheat areas of the Red River and Jamestown valleys of North Dakota. 
At Fargo and Jamestown there is an average of about 20 inches annual 
rainfall and about 2 inches per month during the crop season, so that' 
the rainfall is very well distributed throughout the }~ear. At Bis- 
marck, with the same rainfall and apparently the same distribution, 
the conditions are altogether different, and there are soils upon which 
the crop is always uncertain. There is thus shown to be a great dif- 
ference in the relation of these wheat soils to water. There are only 
certain kinds of soils which have that extraordinary power of conserv- 
ing the moisture for the use of crops possessed by the soils at Pull- 
man, the foothills soil at Bozeman and Walla walla, and the soils of 
the northern part of the San Joaquin Valley. 

DESERTS. 

The Weather Bureau records show that on the Mohave deserl the 
average annual rainfall is about 5 inches. Only three-tenths of an 
inch falls during the season from May to September. The Weather 
Bureau records show that no rain fell at Mohave during the present 
season from the first of May to the middle of September. The soils 
were examined about the middle of September at least 20 miles from 
the mountains in the midst of a level plain. It was expected thai 
it would be necessary to go to a considerable depth in order to find 
moist soil. 



434 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

The surface of the desert is covered with a rather coarse sand, 
somewhat compact below the surface of the ground. This compact 
sand is frequently exposed as the loose surface sand is blown off. Con- 
trary to expectation the soil at a depth of from 12 to 18 inches below 
the surface was still quite moist, in spite of the fact that no rain had 
fallen for at least five and a half months. The surface wells vary in 
depth from 6 to 30 feet, occasionally being 200 feet deep. On certain 
parts of the desert it is the common practice to dig holes 6 or 10 feet 
deep and allow them to fill up with water for the use of the stock. 
The distance to water varies according to the nature of the soil, just 
as it does in the humid portions of the country. The soils in which 
the water is close to the surface are, as a rule, impregnated with alkali. 
There is an artesian belt under a portion of the desert. The amount 
of moisture found in this land was probably not sufficient to support 
a crop of any of our commercial plants, and what moisture there was, 
was alkaline, but the fact of there being any moisture at all, with no 
rain for such a long time, is a matter of the greatest surprise, and is 
a subject worthy of very careful investigation. 

Investigation showed the same conditions to exist on the Nevada 
and Utah deserts between Reno and Ogden. The annual rainfall is 
between 5 and G inches, the seasonal rainfall about 1 or 2 inches on 
the average. During the present season there has been no rainfall 
since the first of May at Tecoma, where a careful examination was 
made, except a siugle shower two or three days before the examina- 
tion. This was not sufficient to have penetrated to any great extent. 
The soil here is quite alkaline, and is covered with an alkali crust in 
many places. The alkali consists mainly of common salt, although 
there are in places considerable quantities of sodium carbonate (black 
alkali) and some sodium sulphate. In a cellar 5 feet deep the soil on 
the sides and bottom was quite moist, and the owner of the place 
stated that it was never dry. Borings made to a depth of several feet 
in this soil showed that the moist soil extended down to a considerable 
depth, probably down to water level. There was a well at this place 
about 30 feet deep. It is stated that water can be found on these 
deserts about 30 feet below the surface, although the water may be so 
strongly impregnated with salts that it is unfit for use. The average 
depth of farm wells throughout the whole of the United States would 
probably be not far from 30 feet. How is it that these desert soils, 
500 miles away from any considerable rainfall area, approach the 
normal conditions in this respect ? In the second place, how is it that 
with standing water at about the same depth below the surface, aiid 
with hardly a tenth of tlie annual rainfall, these soils are still moist 
within a comparatively few inches of the surface after five or six 
months of dry weather ? 

If the amount of water in these desert lands was supplemented by 
an amount which would make the quantity equal to that contained in 



SOME INTERESTING SOIL PROBLEMS. 



435 



the wheat-producing soils already referred to, and if this water was 
added at one time during the winter season, could crops be profitably 
grown upon the soils without subsequent irrigation ? These and vari- 
ous similar questions force themselves upon the mind in contemplat- 
ing the conditions which prevail in these districts. There are here 
opportunities to study the relation of soils to moisture and crop pro- 
duction which are not offered in any other section of the United 
States. An investigation of these conditions will undoubtedly throw 
light upon many problems upon which the development of agricultural 
methods will depend, and these problems can be studied best under 
the peculiar conditions of soil and climate prevailing in the West. 

the low Relative humidity. 

A fact which makes more remarkable this extraordinary power of 
the soils to absorb and retain a sufficient quantity of water for the 
needs of crops for five or six months after the rain ceases is the very 
low relative humidity of the atmosphere. Records of the relative 
humidity have been taken from only a few of the places under con- 
sideration, and these are given in the following table : 

Mean annual and seasonal relative humidity. 



Locality. 



Annual. 



Tulare, Cal 

Wallawalla, Wash. 
Miles City, Mont. . . 
Bismarck. N. Dak. 
Humboldt, Nev 



Per cent. 
58 
63 
65 

48 



May to 
Septem- 
ber. 



Percent. 
43 
47 
53 
67 
36 



July and 

August. 



Percent. 

a5 

39 
46 
65 

31 



The mean relative humidity of New England for July and August, 
1897, determined from the reports of seven Weather Bureau stations, 
was 85 per cent. At Wallawalla the mean relative humidity from 
May to September was only 47 per cent, and for July and August 39 
per cent. It is hardly conceivable that under these extremely dry 
conditions the foothills soil could maintain sufficient water from the 
winter rains to supply the loss due to evaporation from the surface of 
the soil and to transpiration by the plant for months after the rain 
had ceased to fall. At Tulare the mean relative humidity during the 
growing season is 42 per cent, and 35 per cent during the months of 
July and August — conditions which practically prevail at Fresno. 
Nevertheless, at Fresno, with nearly the same rainfall and where crops 
must transpire great quantities of moisture into the dry atmosphere, 
the soil maintains an adequate supply of moisture for the plants, pro- 
vided the water continues to run in the canals, although these may 
be as much as a mile apart. 

At Visalia the mountain streams run out and disappear. They are 



436 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

absorbed in the light, loamy soil. The area upon which these con- 
ditions exist is said to be about 24 miles square. Vineyards and 
orchards grow on this soil in the most satisfactory way without irriga- 
tion, although there is no rainfall during the growing season. It is a 
natural oasis in the midst of the dry plains, and is characterized by 
a fine growth of native trees. 

At Humboldt, on the Nevada desert, the relative humidity from 
May to September is about 36 per cent, and in July and August 31 
per cent. The conditions over the Mohave desert are probably not 
dissimilar from those at Humboldt and Tulare. How is it possible, 
under the conditions of extremely low rainfall and this low relative 
humidity, for the soil to retain moisture within 12 or 18 inches of the 
surface for months after the rains are over? 

LINES OF INVESTIGATION. 

It must be possible to determine the cause of the great power these 
soils have of retaining moisture and of supplying it rapidly and regu- 
larly to the crops as it is needed. If such power can be imparted to 
other soils of a droughty character, especially to our soils in the East, 
it will be of immense value to the farmer. It is clearly apparent from 
a careful consideration of the conditions presented here, that we know 
very little of the possibility of the water-holding power of soils and 
the control of soil moisture. An investigation of these conditions in 
the section under consideration will throw light upon the problem 
which can not so readily be secured under any other conditions. 
There are many young men in the West developing the work of the 
experiment stations who are already interested in the general subject 
of soil investigations and earnestly desirous of seeing certain lines of 
work and of investigation determined for them to follow out. To 
them, therefore, the study and investigation of the above problem is 
earnestly commended. Others can investigate the effect of the meth- 
ods of cultivation, the effect of fertilizers, and the effect of the rota- 
tion of crops, but no one has such a good opportunity to study the 
relation of soils to water and the conservation and movement of water 
in the soil as those located in the arid regions of the West. 

The first question to solve is the distribution of the rainfall. It is 
important to determine the depth to standing water, that is, the 
average depth of wells. Then it is very important to know whether 
any portion of the rainfall passes down into this stratum and runs 
off into the drainage. The electrical method of moisture determina- 
tion is admirably adapted to the study of this problem. Electrodes 
should be buried in the soil at intervals to a depth of from 15 to 
20 feet, the interval between the electrodes varying from a few inches 
immediately below the surface to 4 or 5 feet at the greater depths. 
The resistance at the deeper electrodes should be determined about 
once a week. The movement of water, if it takes place at all, will 
probably be very slow at that depth, but any change will certainly 



SOME INTERESTING SOIL PROBLEMS. 437 

be revealed by corresponding changes in the electrical resistance of 

the soil. If the electrodes are well placed in the soil a1 intervals 
of a few inches in the upper layers and of a few feel in the lower 
strata, the distribution of the rainfall in the soil may be very care- 
fully studied throughout the year. It would be well worth while to 
install a very complete system of electrodes; for with the periodic 
rains there is no doubt a great wave of water going down into the 
soil, reaching its maximum and minimum at certain depths ai differ- 
ent times of the year. The form and the magnitude of this wave is 
very important. 

If the annual rainfall does not descend low enough to form any con- 
nection with the underground water drainage, is it possible that 12 to 
18 inches of rainfall, occurring during the winter months, is sufficient 
to maintain crops for five or six months of dry weather with a low 
relative humidity and often high temperature of the atmosphere, 
without any additional water supply from any source? In other 
words, does the crop live on the rainfall which is stored and main- 
tained for its use, or is it dependent partly upon seepage waters which 
move in from the surrounding country ? 

Is it possible that in the arid conditions existing over the desert 
areas there is a slow and continuous movement of water upward from 
artesian or other sources below the influence of the local climate ? The 
accumulation of alkali on the surface of many of these desert lands 
seems to point to the gradual but infinitely slow movement of water 
upward from the lower depths of the earth. Does such a movement 
really exist, and is it of sufficient magnitude to be taken account of 
in the practical cultivation of the lands ? 

The problem presented by these soils as at present understood may 
perhaps be illustrated by a hypothetical experiment : If a large gal- 
vanized iron tank 15 feet deep and 15 feet square were filled with the 
soil of the Palouse region in its natural condition in the field, and an 
amount of water equal to 18 inches of rainfall were added to this soil 
after a crop had been removed or during the winter months, would 
crops suitable to that climate, including small grain and fruit trees 
planted after the watering had been done, grow to maturity during 
the summer months in spite of prevailing high temperature and low 
relative humidity, without any additional water being added through- 
out their growing season? Would 18 inches of rainfall be sufficient 
for this? or 16? or 11? or 12? or 10? In fact, we come finally to this 
question: What is the minimum requirement of these soils to enable 
them to support a field crop ? 

The conditions are so uniform that it would be easy to figure quite 
closely on this. It is already recognized in practice that some soils, 
especially those in the more southern districts, retain enough of the 
winter rains for a crop like wheat, which matures early in the sum- 
mer, but do not maintain quite enough to mature a crop of corn, 



438 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



which extends on into the late summer and fall in an active growing 
condition. It was even stated this summer that the crop suffered in 
certain localities in southern California in August and September, 
owing to a shortage of half an inch in the April rainfall. 

It is not all soils by any means, even in the same district, that show 
this remarkable power of conserving moisture, and the different soils 
possess it in different degrees. It does not seem to be a matter of tex- 
ture, as there is no marked difference between the foothills soil, which 
will retain the moisture, and the valley soil, which needs irrigation. 

It is not sufficient that a soil should be very retentive of moisture 
and hold a large portion of the rainfall. It must conserve this mois- 
ture, there must be little evaporation from the surface, but at the same 
time it must move readily and rapidly up to the roots of plants to sup- 
ply their needs. These requirements must be great under the almost 
tropical arid conditions of the summer climate of those localities. 
It is, therefore, not only the water capacity of the soil, but also the 
ability of the soil to supply this water to the crop as needed, which 
determine its agricultural value. 

The following table gives the annual and seasonal rainfall at a large 
number of stations of the Weather Bureau adjacent to the localities 
which have been discussed. These are arranged in order of the rain- 
fall during the season from May to September. It is interesting to 
study this material, together with the practice of agriculture at the 

different places. 

Mean annual and seasonal rainfall. 



Locality. 



Mohave, Cal 

Chino, Cal 

Reno, Nev 

Yuma, Ariz. 

Tulare, Cal 

Pomona, Cal 

Fresno, Cal _-. 

Los Angeles, Cal 

Stockton, Cal 

San Bernardino, Cal 
Wadsworth, Nev---. 

Merced, Cal 

Humboldt, Nev 

Claremont, Cal. 

Elko, Nev 

Tecoma, Nev 

Carson City, Nev... 

Golconda, Nev 

Winnemucca, Nev _ 
Ellensburg, Wash . . 

Phoenix, Ariz 

Ogden, Utah 

Spokane, Wash 



Annual. 


May to 
Septem- 
ber. 


July and 
August. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


Inches. 


5.0 


0.3 


0.1 


15.7 


0.3 


0.1 


5.3 


0.4 


0.0 


2.8 


0.5 


0.4 


7.0 


0.6 


Trace. 


19.4 


0.6 


Trace. 


9.3 


0.7 


Trace. 


17.2 


0.7 


0.1 


13.2 


0.9 


Trace. 


16.6 


0.9 


0.2 


4.1 


1.0 


0.3 


10.3 


1.0 


Trace. 


5.6 


1.2 


0.0 


18.0 


1.2 


0.2 


6.3 


1.6 


0.3 


5.0 


1.7 


0.4 


12.1 


1.7 


0.4 


5.9 


2.0 


0.2 


8.5 


2.0 


0.2 


9.0 


2.0 


0.3 


7.1 


2.8 


2.0 


14.0 


3.4 


0.6 


18.6 


3.7 


0.7 



SOME INTERESTING SOIL PROBLEMS. 
Mean annual and seasonal rainfall — Continued. 



439 



Locality. 



Grand Junction, Colo 

Walla walla, Wash 

Colfax, Wash 

Fort Lapwai, Idaho . - 
Fort Spokane, Wash . 

Pullman, Wash 

El Paso, Tex _ 

Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Boulder, Mont 

Miles City, Mont 

Fort Missoula, Mont . 

Helena, Mont-__ 

Greeley, Colo 

Medora, N. Dak 

Fort Custer, Mont . . . 

Fort Keogh, Mont 

Denver, Colo 

Pueblo, Colo 

Fort Collins, Colo.... 
Santa Fe, N. Mex .... 

Glendive, Mont 

Bozeman, Mont 

Bismarck, N. Dak 

Jamestown, N. Dak.. 
Fargo, N. Dak 



Annual. JSem- 'V' 1 //";' 1 
her. August. 



Inc 



h, .V. 

9.0 
15. 4 
23. o 

17. 2 
11. S 
22.8 

8.9 
18. 7 

9.6 
12.8 
1(3.1 
13.2 
11.4 
11.9 
13.2 
12.6 
14.3 
12.0 
14.0 
14.6 
15.8 
18.2 
18.5 
20.3 
19.5 



Inches. 

4.0 
4.5 
5.1 
.'..I 
5.2 
5.3 
5.9 
6.3 
6.6 



6.9 

7.0 



8.0 
8.0 



9.0 
9.5 
11.2 
11.5 
11.8 
13.9 



llll/l, s. 

2.2 
0.8 
(1.9 
1.0 
1.1 
1.1 
3.5 
2.2 
1.7 
1.3 
1.7 
1.7 
2.9 
1.8 
2.0 
2.1 
3.1 
4.3 
3.1 
5.4 
2.1 
2.3 
4.3 
4.2 
5.6 



THE TEXTURE OF THE SOILS. 

A large number of soil samples were collected from North Dakota, 
Montana, Washington, California, and Nevada during the season of 
1897. A description of some of the most interesting of them is 
given, as follows: 
3279. 

3264. 

3291. 

3285. 

3322. 



3331. 



3348. 



Two miles west of Mapleton, Cass County, N. Dak. Typical Red River 

Valley wheat land. Sample collected between depths of 15 and 36 inches. 
Four miles north of Jamestown, Stutsman County, N. Dak. Prairie. 

Wheat land of Jamestown Valley. Depth, 9 to 24 inches. 
Bismarck, Burleigh County, N. Dak. Sandy prairie. Depth. 15 to 40 

inches. Wheat fails on this soil three out of five years. 
Steele. Kidder County, N. Dak. Prairie. Depth, 20 to 30 inches. Wheat 

fails three out of five years. 
Eleven miles west of Billings, Yellowstone County, Mont. From prairie 

above the ditch. Depth, 12 to 24 inches. Wheat can not be produced 

on this soil without irrigation. 
Two miles east of Pullman, Whitman County, Wash. Typical Palouse 

country wheat land. Depth, to 36 inches. Produces large and very 

sure crops. 
Wallawalla, Wallawalla County, Wash. Valley land. Depth, to 12 

inches. This soil is extensively irrigated and cultivated in truck and 

fruit. Wheat is very uncertain on this soil without irrigation. 



440 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



3352. Seven miles east of Wallawalla, Walla walla County, Wash. Typical foot- 
hills soil, upon which large and sure crops of wheat are produced without 
irrigation. Depth, to 12 inches. 

3394. Six miles north of Fresno, Fresno County, Cal. Sandy loam. Depth, to 
36 inches. This soil requires no irrigation except that the water runs 
through the ditches throughout the season to supply lands lying beyond. 

3416. Visalia, Tulare County, Cal. Depth, to 12 inches. Very fine fruit land, 
and requires no irrigation. 

3378. Tulare, Tulare County, Cal. Alkali land. Depth, 1 to 24 inches. This 
land requires irrigation for all crops. 

3432. Three miles southeast of Pomona, Los Angeles County, Cal. Sandy land. 
Depth. 2 to 36 inches. Second crop of tobacco being harvested from 
this land since last rain; soil still moist below the surface, and tobacco 
is quite vigorous. Crops need no irrigation. 

3388. Lancaster, Los Angeles County, Cal. Barren land of the Mohave desert. 
Depth, 3 to 36 inches. No crops grown without irrigation. 

3419. Tecoma, Elko County, Nev. Black alkali land. Depth, 12 to 24 inches. 
From the Nevada desert. No crops grown without irrigation. 

The following table shows the results of the mechanical analyses of 
the above samples: 

Mechanical analyses of soils. 



No. 


Locality. 


Description. 


'?- ID 

gp, 

- a 

£ co 

-£ >> 

cc u 

of 


c6 

a 
s 

'2 

cS 
M 

o 


2 

It 

5 


T3 

a 

cS^. 
cog 

(2 8 
CClI 

c 

o 


-a 
el,-, 

co a 
a 

3£ 
.5 i" 

CD*--- 
8 


O 

5$ 

p 

cc a 

CD 

S 

E 


cl . 

m a 

§a 

cO>c 
> 


Silt (.05-. 01 
mm.). 


1 
i 

s| 

CO " 

© 


S 

o 

a 

£ 








P.ct. 


P.ct. 


P.ct. 


P.ct. 


P.ct. 


P.ct. 


P. ct. 


P. ct. 


P.ct. 


P.ct. 


3279 


Mapleton, N. 
Dak. 


Red River 
Valley. 


7.84 


7.72 


0.03 


0.07 


0.18 


0.94 


11.51 


25.94 


6.06 


38.00 


3264 


Jamestow u , 
N. Dak. 


Prairie 


4.48 


4.33 


0.86 


2.10 


6.37 


16.69 


21.70 


14.57 


2.75 


25.55 


3291 


Bismarck, N. 
Dak. 


Sandy prairie 


2.54 


6.02 


1.74 


6.61 


10.67 


4.23 


28.91 


21.17 


1.79 


16.48 


3285 


Steele, N. 
Dak. 


Prairie 


4.46 


5.18 


0.00 


0.09 


0.42 


1.87 


41.18 


22.97 


3.58 


19.57 


3322 


Billings, 

Mont. 


do 


2.98 


4.40 


0.00 


0.00 


0.16 


7.96 


28.79 


34.45 


4.67 


17.25 


3331 


Pullman, 
Wash. 


Paloiise dis- 
trict— b a- 
salt. 


5.51 


5.08 


0.03 


0.16 


0.16 


0.85 


27.94 


35.80 


5.77 


18.57 


3348 


"Walla wall a , 
Wash. 


Valley land... 


4.12 


3.08 


0.00 


0.15 


0.41 


3.22 


35.24 


37.73 


3.54 


12.63 


3352 


Wallawall a , 
Wash. 


Foothills soil. 


3.95 


5.66 


0.00 


0.06 


0.08 


1.05 


25.12 


42.12 


4.24 


17.50 


3394 


Fresno, Cal _ _ 


Sandy loam . . 


1.61 


2.52 


0.43 


3.40 


16.14 


30.95 


15.90 


12. 72 


1.58 


14.60 


3416 


Visalia, Cal . . 


Loam 


2.85 


5.85 


0.03 


0.18 


0.61 


5.41 


34.28 


34.28 


3.50 


14. 20 


3378 


Tulare, Cal_. 


Alkali land . . . 


2.72 


4.44 


0.64 


2.57 


6.22 


12.46 


22.79 


21.36 


6.51 


21. 05 


3432 


Pomona, Cal. 


Sandy land... 


1.00 


1.94 


6.03 


10.11 


17.26 


21.92 


20.98 


13.13 


1.93 


5.33 


3388 


L a nc a s t er, 
Cal. 


Mohave desert 


1.77 


3.81 


0.34 


0.89 


1.67 


7.86 


35.12 


28.43 


3.45 


18.63 


3419 


Tecoraa,Nev. 
Average. 


Nevada des- 
ert. 


3.17 


6.43 


0.07 


0.13 


0.37 


5.24 


44.96 


17.94 


5.00 


17.93 




3.50 


4.75 


0.73 


1.89 


4.33 


8.62 


28.17 


25.90 


3.88 


18.37 









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